Please Don't Let Go

Castle Leoch Pt.1

Elizabeth didn't really know what to feel as she stared at Jamie, and it seemed as though Jamie, too, had no idea what to feel as he stared at Elizabeth. In the reality of the situation, both of them thought that they would never see each other again. Jamie had been taken away from Elizabeth and her only hope of seeing him again was if he ever decided to come back to Castle Leoch or their family farm, and Elizabeth thought that was never going to happen.

Maybe she was feeling rage, anger, betrayal, hurt... but Elizabeth mostly felt betrayed. Why hadn't Jamie told her that he was coming back? He could have sent her a letter. The deeper her mind traveled into her now twisted thoughts, she could only stare at Jamie with wide, sad eyes and a face that screamed, 'why didn't you come back to me?'. In her mind, the only reasonable answer of why Jamie never wrote to her telling her that he was coming back was because he didn't want her to know that he was coming back. Even though they had vowed to each other that they would always try and find a way home, maybe Jamie wanted a new home. One by one, the scouts dispersed and each headed in his own direction till it was only her, Jamie, Glenna, and the whore.

Swallowing, Elizabeth raised her voice only loud enough for Glenna to hear her, "I see that this is all taken care of. I'll head back to my chores."

As she walked away, Elizabeth tried not to make it look as though she were trying to run away. If Jamie really did want another woman in his life, she would walk away with enough courage to show him that she didn't care. That she was better off without him like she had been these last few years. She wanted to show him that she could survive without him and that she had survived without him. So, with her head held, Elizabeth calmly walked back into the castle, deciding not to look back.

Unbeknownst to her, Jamie did watch her walk away. Sparing a glance at Claire, Jamie quickly informed Glenna of the situation at hand, "Murtagh found her. Dougal said we must bring her along with us. So..."

"So." Glenna FitzGibbons was not a fool. She had been working long enough with Elizabeth to know her connection with Jamie and that he was the nephew of Dougal and his brother. Even though Jamie's ranking could be considered to be higher up than hers, Glenna did not miss the waver in Elizabeth's voice or how her eyes glistened when she turned to away. "Well... Claire." The distain in her voice was evident.

Claire only nodded caustiously towards the woman in front of her.

"Come with me. We should find you something to eat. Something to wear that a bit more..." Glenna's eyes looked at Claire with disapproval, "Well... a bit more."

As Glenna turned to go, she caught Jamie's eye and nodded towards the side door, "You should go see her and fix this," She roughly gestured to Claire, "misunderstanding."

Jamie gave Glenna a quick nod before grabbing his bag and throwing it over his good shoulder. He turned to leave when Claire suddenly refused to leave.

"He's hurt." Claire gestured to his wrapped arm and the sling she had made.

"Oh, don't you worry, dearie." Glenna smiled as she pulled Claire along, nodding her head to the door Elizabeth went through so Jamie could find her, "He's already got someone to fix him all up."

~8~

A loud clang could be heard from the Healer's room as Elizabeth kicked a bucket to the side, watching it hit the wall and fall over, spilling the water within it. She quickly sat on the bed in the corner of the room and buried her head into her hands, sighing deeply to try and stop the tears. Sniffling, Elizabeth gave a light laugh before wiping her eyes.

"Come on, Liza." She cooed to herself as she grabbed a rag, "You're gonna be fine. You always are in the end."

As she bent down to wipe the floor, a loud knocked on the door caught her attention and she halted her movements before asking, "Who is it?"